Cheney: Benghazi Terror Attack Shows 'Failure of Leadership'

In a rare statement about the Obama administration, former Vice President Dick Cheney criticized the administration’s handling of the 9/11 terror attack on our consulate in Benghazi, stating it was a “failure of leadership.” He went on to say that the administration should have been prepared on the anniversary of 9/11.

‘I mean, it’s North Africa – Libya, where they’ve already had major problems,’ Cheney said. ‘You know that al-Qaeda is operating there, and you have some of the other al-Qaeda-affiliated groups there like Ansar al-Sharia and others.’

Cheney pointed out that the Bush/Cheney administration “always anticipated they were coming for us, especially in that part of the world” on 9/11. He explained, “You’ve got units in the Defense Department that are superb. They practice for this contingency. And they didn’t have anybody in the area..”

advertisement

The Vice President was also skeptical about ordering military forces to stand down once the attacks began.

It was clear the administration was more concerned about the effect of the terror attack on the upcoming election. ‘And it was shortly before the election, and you know: a big crisis with al-Qaeda attacking embassies? They were hoping that they could avoid that. It was a bit of a reach.’ Cheney described, “they wanted to be able to say, ‘We got bin Laden. Problem solved’ “

Three whistle-blowers will be appearing before the House Oversight Committee today to answer questions about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. “The hearing should be damned interesting,” Cheney predicted.